Stock Market & Financial Investment News

LINN Energy, LinnCo and Berry Petroleum provide update on mergerLINN Energy (LINE), LinnCo (LNCO) and Berry Petroleum (BRY) announced an update of the proposed timing of the pending merger transaction. The Registration Statement on Form S-4 remains under review by the SEC. The parties are working diligently to complete that process and anticipate filing a second amendment to the Form S-4 early next week. The parties now anticipate the shareholder and unitholder meetings to occur in Q313, with closing to follow shortly thereafter.

On The Fly: Top stock stories for ThursdayThe market began the session in negative territory following the release of second quarter GDP data below economists' estimates. Continuing this morning's slow start, the indexes churned in negative territory for the first half of the day before turning mixed near noon. The Dow and S&P generally lagged behind the Nasdaq, with the S&P narrowly edging into positive territory by session close. ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., gross domestic product was estimated to have grown at a 2.3% annualized rate in the second quarter, though expectations were for GDP growth of 2.7%. The government also upwardly revised its estimate of first quarter GDP growth to 0.6% from a prior estimate of 0.2% contraction in the period. Initial jobless claims rose 12,000 to 267,000 in the week ended July 25, which was a bit below the expected 270,000 first-time claims. COMPANY NEWS: Facebook (FB) reported earnings and revenues last night that topped expectations, but its shares slid $1.78, or 1.84%, to $95.21 as the social network's growth in daily averages users fell a bit short of the consensus forecast and may have missed the high, "whisper" expectations for its report... Shares of Whole Foods (WFM) sunk 11.61% to $36.08 and hit a 52-week low of $35.57 during the session after the company reported weaker than expected results and provided lower than expected profit guidance. Several analysts downgraded shares of the organic foods grocer in the wake of its quarterly report and outlook. MAJOR MOVERS: Among the notable gainers was T-Mobile (TMUS), which advanced $1.82, or 4.91%, to $38.86 after handily beating analyst estimates and raising its outlook for yearly net customer additions forecast. Also higher following their earnings reports were Mondelez (MDLZ) and WWE (WWE), gaining a respective 5.03% and 17.48%. Among the noteworthy losers was Stratasys (SSYS), which fell $3.82, or 10.47%, to $32.67 after the company rescinded its fiscal year guidance, citing a lack of visibility on growth in the market. The news built on continued fears of overcapacity in the sector, leading to session losses for numerous 3D printer stocks, including an 8.94% drop for peer 3D Systems (DDD). Also lower was Qorvo (QRVO), which declined $9.99, or 14.17%, to $60.49 after its second quarter guidance significantly trailed analyst estimates, after which the stock saw price target reductions from BMO and Brean. Additionally, LinnCo (LNCO) declined $1.83, or 29.33%, to $4.41 after parent company Linn Energy (LINE) announced plans to suspend dividends and reserve roughly $450M from annualized distributions, which saw Linn also slipping 26.32% to $4.76. INDEXES: The Dow fell 5.41, or 0.03%, to 17,745.98, the Nasdaq gained 17.05, or 0.33%, to 5,128.79, and the S&P 500 advanced 0.06, or 0.00%%, to 2,108.63.

LINN expects FY15 reductions in lease operating expenses of $100MThe company anticipates full-year cost reductions in lease operating expenses of approximately $100M. Based on these successful cost management efforts and two quarters of favorable performance compared to guidance, LINN has increased its previously announced combined cost reduction targets to over $225M on an annualized basis. The company's current total oil and natural gas capital budget is approximately $530M for 2015.

LINN Energy reports Q2 production up 8% to 1,219 MMcfe/dProduction increased eight percent to an average of approximately 1,219 MMcfe/d for the second quarter 2015, compared to 1,131 MMcfe/d for the second quarter 2014. This increase was primarily attributable to operational outperformance from LINN's capital program and base optimization efforts.